On any given day, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary provides a healing home for up to 1,600 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, horses, pigs, and other animals.

The awe-inspiring canyons of southern Utah ― the backdrop for our lifesaving work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary ― offer a rewarding experience for visitors and volunteers alike. 

As a volunteer, you'll have the opportunity to experience firsthand this magical place, and also contribute to improving the lives of the animals who call Best Friends their home-between-homes.


Volunteers at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary provide the animals with what they need the most: personal attention, hands-on care, and love.


So much sanctuary, so little time

Whether you snuggle with a senior cat or help spruce up some buildings around the Sanctuary, there’s a volunteer opportunity for you.

While all volunteer experiences are different, you can always count on them being meaningful for both you and the animals! When signing up to volunteer, try to schedule your shift as early as you can. They fill up fast. 

With seven different animal areas and acres of canyon lands surrounding the sanctuary, you’ll have plenty of choices where to you’d like to lend a hand.

If you’re visiting with your kids, be sure to check out each area’s page for volunteer opportunities for your whole family (including age requirements).

Take a pet on an outing or sleepover

You can get some extra quality time with Sanctuary animals when you host a sleepover with an adoptable dog or cat at your pet-friendly accommodation, or take an approved resident pup on an outing.

Here's what Sanctuary volunteers have to say

Many who visit our animal sanctuary describe it as a magical and lifechanging experience. And these volunteers feel the same:

Hailey Shah
I used to have a quote stenciled above my bed that read: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” For me, interacting with loving, trusting shelter and sanctuary animals enriches the soul in a way that words really can’t describe.
Hailey Shah
Elisha Edge
I love knowing I did something small to make an animal happy, or contributed in a way to get them socialized to make them more adoptable.
Elisha Edge
Howard Haber
The Sanctuary is brimming with positive energy. It’s infectious. The staff and volunteers make each visit so rewarding. Volunteering with Best Friends should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Howard Haber

Know before you go

If you’re not sure where to get lunch or what to wear in southern Utah in the middle of summer, we’ve got you covered.

Silhouette of two dogs, cat and kitten

Looking for more ways to help the animals?

With thousands of animals in shelters around the country hoping for their own families, one of the most valuable gifts you can give them is your time.

If you live within driving distance of Kanab, you can also help out by fostering an animal from our sanctuary. When you welcome an animal into your home for a short time, you free up space for another.